Professional Judgment Daniel M. Tramuta Associate Vice President for Enrollment Services New York State Financial Aid Administrators Association (NYSFAAA) - Past President Fredonia – State University of New York

“In General—Nothing in this part shall be interpreted as limiting the authority of the financial aid administrator, on the basis of adequate documentation, to make adjustments on a case-by-case basis to the cost of attendance or the values of the data items required to calculate the expected student or parent contribution (or both) to allow for treatment of an individual eligible applicant with special circumstances. However, this authority shall not be construed to permit aid administrators to deviate from the contributions expected in the absence of special circumstances.” Professional Judgment Definition Section 479A of HEOA

The financial aid administrator is designated as the person responsible for making professional judgment (PJ) decisions PJ allows for flexibility in assisting students and families in extenuating/special circumstances PJ decisions must be based on adequate documentation Examples of situations where PJ can be used are:  Cost of Attendance  Values of Federal Methodology data items (Appeals)  Dependency Status (Dependency Over-rides)  Satisfactory Academic Progress  Parental Refusal to Complete FAFSA PJ Con’t

PJ & Cost of Attendance You have the authority to use PJ to adjust the cost of attendance on a case-by-case basis to allow for special circumstances Aid administrators must make “reasonable” decisions that support the intent of the provision. Your school is held accountable for all professional judgment decisions and for fully documenting each decision. Request documentation of exceptional expenses such as disability related expenses, child care expenses, cost of computer equipment, one-time cost of obtaining certificate or license while enrolled, etc. in order to adjust student budget

Some students and their families experience unique circumstances that affect the ability to pay college costs. Circumstances that may warrant an appeal are:  Drop in income from prior year to current year  Change in employment status  Loss of Unemployment Benefits  Out-of-pocket medical expenses/premiums not covered by insurance  Change in parent’s marital status due to death, separation or divorce  1-time fluctuation in income, other unusual circumstances, e.g. (early IRA, 401K, 403B withdrawal, 1-time capital gain, private elementary/secondary school tuition expenses  Other unusual circumstances, e.g. Hurricane Sandy, etc. Please note that verification must be completed prior to exercising PJ PJ & Appeals

Appeal Process at Fredonia Student files the FAFSA and completes verification (if selected) The family then submits a letter to the Financial Aid Office which details the reason for income change, the date of the income change, and total taxable and untaxed income for the family during the present calendar year., along with the Appeal Form. See (also on next slide) If additional documentation is required by the Financial Aid Office, it will be requested. The appeal is evaluated, and federal eligibility is recalculated if possible. A response regarding the appeal determination is sent to the student.

A financial aid administrator (FAA) may do dependency overrides on a case-by-case basis for students with unusual circumstances. If the FAA determines that an override is appropriate, she must write a statement detailing the determination and must include the statement and supporting documentation in the student’s file. Unusual circumstances do include abandonment by parents, an abusive family environment that threatens the student’s health or safety, or the student being unable to locate the parents. PJ & Dependency Status 1415 FSA Handbook, Application & Verification Guide

Documentation is critical to the dependency override process. The documentation must support, and include the reason for, the decision and should in almost all cases originate from a third party with knowledge of the unusual circumstances of the student. An FAA may, without gathering documentation, use an override that another school granted in the same award year. However, overrides do not carry over from one year to the next; the FAA must reaffirm each year that the unusual circumstances persist and an override is still justified FSA Handbook, Application & Verification Guide PJ & Dependency Status

Student meets with a FAA and provides a personal statement outlining the situation, along with three non-biased pieces of documentation. Acceptable pieces of non-biased documentation are:  Legal documents (death certificates, court documentation, etc)  Letters on letterhead from school personnel explaining situation Once appropriate documentation is received, FAA completes Dependency Over-ride online via FAA Access and satisfies requirement in Banner (INDOVR, see next slide). Student meets with FAA yearly to update the FAO on situation. Dependency Over-ride Process at Fredonia

PJ & Dependency Status

PJ & Satisfactory Academic Progress PJ can be utilized when reviewing SAP for students with extenuating circumstances such as  Death of a relative of the student  Personal injury or illness of student  Special circumstances as determined by institution

PJ & Satisfactory Academic Progress at Fredonia The institutional SAP Waiver Policy and use of Federal Academic Plans is based on the following set of procedures:  A student will be notified within four weeks at the conclusion of the Spring semester if he/she fails to meet federal Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements (we review federal SAP once per year).  Students are sent a letter of explanation, waiver application (see next slide), and copy of the Federal SAP chart. This is also viewable on Your Connection.  If the student chooses to appeal the loss of federal student aid for the subsequent semester, he/she must submit a letter and include supporting documentation with the waiver application that supports the reason for failing to meet Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements.  The basis on which a student may file an appeal are the death of an immediate family member, student illness, illness of a family member, and/or other personal and emotional difficulties.

Sample Waiver Application

PJ & Satisfactory Academic Progress at Fredonia  The Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Waiver Committee will review the documentation and either approve or deny the Federal Waiver request and will subsequently notify the student via written and electronic means.  If the federal aid waiver is approved, the student is placed in a Financial Aid Probation status for the next semester and a determination will be made as to whether or not a student could meet the required SAP standards after the subsequent payment period and if not, the Dean/Department Chair will develop an “academic plan” in collaboration with the student to ensure that the student meets Federal SAP standards by a specific point in time.  The “academic plan” then becomes the students mandate to meeting Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements in place of the standard Federal SAP Chart.

PJ & Satisfactory Academic Progress at Fredonia  Federal academic plans are semester based plans. Students who are placed on a Federal academic plan must be reviewed by the Dean/Department Chair at the end of the Fall 2015 semester to determine:  If he/she met the plan or did not meet the plan  If he/she met the plan is a new plan for the Spring semester required or will he/she now go back to the standard Federal SAP chart  If he/she did not meet the plan, the student is sent notification and the federal aid is cancelled for the Spring semester

PJ & Parent Refusal to Complete FAFSA HEOA established new category of PJ, effective August 14, When parent refuses to complete parent’s section of FAFSA AND refuses to support the student, school may perform a PJ to make the student eligible for an unsubsidized Stafford Loan. This is NOT a dependency over-ride. FAA must document parent’s refusal to file a FAFSA & to provide financial support to the student  Signed statement from the parent stating the refusal  If parents refuse to provide signed statement, documentation may be from a third party attesting to the situation

PJ & Parent Refusal to Complete FAFSA If FFA performs this type of PJ, student becomes eligible for unsubsidized Stafford Loan funds Student remains a dependent student Parent may not borrow a PLUS for this student Dependent student annual loan limits apply  First Year - $5,500  Second Year - $6,500  Third Year and thereafter - $7,500

PJ & Parent Refusal to Complete FAFSA at Fredonia Student files FAFSA and states he/she will not provide parental information Student obtains required documentation Loan Coordinator processes unsubsidized Stafford loan only and updates appropriate Banner screens to reflect Dependent student – Unsub only

PJ Pitfalls Applying professional judgment to a class or group of students Changing the EFC formula Awarding FSEOG or Perkins to students who do not meet ‘neediest student’ definition Changing elements of the EFC and applying change to only one Title IV program Changing a student’s status from Independent to Dependent Waiving the Ability-To-Benefit requirement Creating new cost category in Cost of Attendance Using PJ to circumvent the law or the intent of the law

PJ Myths If you use projected year income for one year you may not do it again the next If you make too many dependency override changes, it will trigger a program review If you exercise too much professional judgment you may be promoted

Written Policy Every professional judgment decision must be documented; and the documentation must at minimum include:  What was changed  Rationale/justification for the change  Person who made the change  Date Who is allowed to make changes with professional judgment? Do you have more than one method of exercising professional judgment? Consistency among the staff

Remember… Be open and fearless in using professional judgment Listen to the student’s and/or parent’s whole situation Remember professional judgment empowers the aid administrator to deal with the students’ unique circumstances If done correctly, your use of professional judgment cannot be challenged during a program review

Questions?